Week One: I should've taken French in high school

Allumettes, brunoise, brunoisette, chiffonade, tourne, batonnet, pont neuf, concasser, cheveaux, macedoine; only a few of the words I've had to impart into my everyday vocabulary over the last week or so, and each of them happen to be separate techniques for cutting a potato. We haven't actually cooked anything yet, unless you count blanching tomatoes to remove the skin(emmonder) and then chopping(concasser). Week one isn't the most thrilling or glamorous week to read about on a blog, but I guess it's not supposed to be. If they had us making creme brulee the first week it'd be fun, but we wouldn't really know what we're doing or why we're doing it, basically we're learning the techniques of cooking, as well as some management-type issues(portion cost, etc.). That's not to say it's all boring, today we supreme'd an orange(cut out the slices of meat) and arranged in a circle with thin strips of zest on top. Simple, I know, but fun to make.

On Monday we all had to meet in the library to get our ID badges and other last-minute miscellanea, and meet our Chef Instructors. For Food Safety & Sanitation and College Success/Career Portfolio I have Chef T. She's probably in her late 20's/early 30's, is very sarcastic and quick witted(reminds me of my photographer cousin big time), and specializes in pastry/baking(patissiere). With it being mostly Food Safety and Sanitation, there are mostly open discussions during class where nearly everyone puts in their two(or sometimes three) cents. We are her only class with perfect attendance through the first week, so on Monday we were greeted with homemade chocolate brownie cookies topped with powdered sugar, they were uh-mazing.

Chef M requires more discipline in his classroom(Culinary Foundations I, Found I for short). That isn't to say it's a bad thing, it's just a different atmosphere, as we're learning the basics of our culinary education. He isn't at all mean or ill-tempered, quite the contrary. He's actually a really kind and gentle sort of guy, but definitely knows how to keep us attentive and focused. At the beginning of each class we line up in the hall for uniform check. If something's missing from your uniform, he'll just smile and say, "No badge? Sneak into the building this morning, did we?" Everyone would chuckle a little to ease the self-induced tension, and the student would fumble out, "Sorry, Chef. I think I, uh, left it in my car." Chef would just motion his head toward the parking lot, and the student would run and go get it. Or to me on the third day: (Always smiling)"What's with your face today?" Not knowing what he meant, I just said, "Sorry?" and he tells me that beards are ok but stubble is not ok. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but it is what it is. I haven't shaved with an actual razor in at least a year, and I forgot how uncomfortable it is and why I switched to electric, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

A few things I've noticed about culinary school: Everyone talks about Top Chef(I don't see what all the fuss is about), and you're almost never hungry. During the first week we sampled caramel apple slices, a buffet of fancy hors d'ourves(stuffed foie gras, duck breast with orange slice, etc.) from a Cuisine Foundations V class, and breakfast burritos from one of the many clubs on campus. Plus the brownie cookies from Chef T, they're worth mentioning twice.

Sadly, it's not all treats and Top Chef talk. This week(week two) we have a paper due on a foodborne outbreak in FS&S, and two tests in Found I. In a couple of weeks there's a book report due(reading one of Bourdain's books, loving it), and in the meantime I'm trying to find a grocery store that's throwing out some old produce so I can practice my cuts. No luck there yet.

It's a lot of hard work, but it all serves a purpose: to help me be the best chef I can be. I think I'm going to like it here.

My favorite stir-fry

Sorry, didn't learn this one in school but it's one I've been making and tweaking for awhile. It's cheap, it's healthy, it's simple, and it's GOOD - Roommate Approved in fact. It started like I suppose every stir-fry starts; leftover ingredients. This particular dish(made for one) shown above contains:

- 3-4oz leftover turkey breast
- 2 or 3 golf-ball sized yellow "gold" potatoes, quartered
- 2 or 3 stalks of asparagus, cut into thirds
- About 2 inches of yellow squash, sliced
- Half a handful of mushrooms(has to be EXACT)
- 1/4 small red onion, sliced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- S&P
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

Cut the potatoes first and throw them in your saucepan(med. heat) with the olive oil first, they take the longest to cook. Add salt and pepper to your vegetables after cutting, before cooking.
After you cut your veggies, toss in the mushrooms and asparagus, and put a lid over the top for a minute or two. Increase heat to med-high.
Add the rest of the veg. and turkey(or whatever you have) into the pan with your spices, toss together, and saute for another minute or so, plate, and eat.

You don't need to go out and get these exact ingredients, the point is to use what you've got in the fridge to make new and interesting combinations. Use oregano or basil if you've got it fresh, throw in a tomato and crush it while it's cooking. If you're on a budget get a pound of each of these ingredients and there's your lunch for the week for under $15.

Add a unique twist to the recipe that really dips your ladle and share it.

Thanks for reading. First week of culinary school action coming over the weekend, stay tuned!

School starts tomorrow!

I've never written a blog before, but school starts tomorrow and I think a blog describing the ins and outs of Culinary School would be an interesting thing to read or write about. I won't list the name of the school but it's in Dallas and I'm sure if you're reading this you already know anyway. School lasts for 18 months, then I do a 3-month internship at a restaurant that can be anywhere in the world(let's do this thing, Italy!).

My schedule starts at 7am with Culinary Foundations I and ends at 1pm after Food Safety and Sanitation. That's right, no algebra, english, history or Spanish(yet). Try to contain your jealousy.

I'm required to wear a uniform daily, even in non-kitchen classrooms. I must be wearing and have with me at all times:

A white chef's coat,
white cravat(weird neck tie thing),
herringbone pants(basically thick, checkered pajama pants),
black non-skid shoes,
white skull cap,
side towel,
apron,
and a thermometer.

The Chef Instructors basically wear the same thing except with black pants instead of herringbone and a white pleated toque(tall chef's hat) instead of a skull cap. I'll do my best to upload a picture of myself wearing the uniform once I learn how to tie this friggin cravat, but no promises.

I figure there won't be any more interesting news for at least a few days, I'll try to take some pictures of the food and other cool stuff at school but I don't know how keen they'll be on that. We'll see.

Thanks for reading, cheers.